Repetitive behaviors are observed in autism spectrum disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Clinically, obsessive-compulsive disorder obsessions are thought to drive repetitive or ritualistic behavior designed to neutralize subjective distress, while restricted and repetitive behaviors are theorized to be reward- or sensory-driven. Both…

Examined adolescents' current use of substances and their interactions with peers and significant adults. Users of various substances associated with other individuals who used the same substances. Adolescent drug users do not appear to form subcultures delineated from nonuser subcultures along interaction dimensions other than that of drug use.…

Reactions of male and female adolescent pairs to a same sex newcomer were observed as a means of assessing sex differences in indirect aggressive behaviors. Following a problem solving session, the group members rated each other's personality. Adolescent girls made less favorable judgments of the newcomer than did adolescent boys. In addition, on…

Reconstructs social indicators of activity patterns at age 17. Respondents (N=662) were asked to recall various features of daily life at that age. The results indicated a secular decline in the time adolescents spend in family and household settings and with parents nearby. (Author/JAC)

Data from the primary caretakers of 20,505 children in the National Incidence Study of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Throwaway Children illustrate the influence of parents' own childhood running-away experiences on their children's behavior. The importance of intergenerational transmission factors is illustrated. (SLD)

Examined the relationship between individual interactional style, individual problem-solving behavior, and family problem-solving effectiveness in 431 intact rural families with 2 children, 1 of whom was in seventh grade. Results indicated that a hostile interactional style directly predicted destructive problem-solving behavior, whereas a warm…

Examined self-perception during late adolescence as a correlate of individual temperament. Found that positive self-perception correlated with approaching, flexible, and positive mood patterns, and with high task orientation. Different aspects of self-perception showed distinct relationships with specific temperament dimensions. Noted men's and…

The study, part of a series on learning disabled (LD) adolescents, was designed to examine the differences between LD (N=234), low achieving (LA, N=222), and normal achieving (NA, N=215) students on various indices of social interactions and activities in secondary school settings. Study instruments contained questions relating to peer…

Mediation by self-monitoring of the relationship between perceived approval from others and delinquent behavior was studied for 828 Hong Kong students in grades 7 through 9. Analyses indicate that self-monitoring is an interacting factor and that the relationship is more apparent for high self-monitors. (SLD)

Attempted to identify behavioral precursors of conflict outcomes and to isolate unique characteristics of important conflicts. Results suggest that conflict components were interrelated. Resolutions were associated with outcomes and affective intensity, and affective intensity was linked to lessons learned. Apparently, the salience of an…

Questionnaires completed by 301 junior and senior high school students provided data for a study of family influences on the development of various consumer competencies, materialistic values, communication behaviors, and attitudes toward marketing stimuli. Family influences were studied in the context of two dimensions of communication…

The objective of the study was to explore how social mindies or the process social units of mind, social interaction, and private and public behavior are related in the time interval between 13 and 16 years of age. A "mindy" is a unit process of mind constructed through using a mental shape as a sketch for mindy processing. A social…

Questionnaires completed by 607 middle school and high school students provided data about the learning of selected advertising-related cognitions among adolescents and on the short-term effect of these cognitions and other communication variables on adolescent consumption behavior. Among the findings were the following: susceptibility to…

An interactional model explaining predisposition to hyperactivity asserts that being identified, diagnosed, and treated as hyperactive is a function of biological factors, early health and temperament, family characteristics, and the quality of the home environment. A longitudinal study involving 367 subjects, aged 17-18, tested the interactional…